The Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C., designed by Gordon Bun…
The Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C., designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, seen from the National Mall
Ezra Stoller/Esto
South façade
Ezra Stoller/Esto
The southeast face of the Hirshhorn Museum, seen from inside the…
The southeast face of the Hirshhorn Museum, seen from inside the walls of the sculpture garden
Ezra Stoller/Esto
The Hirshhorn Museum's north façade, with a balcony that …
The Hirshhorn Museum's north façade, with a balcony that faces the National Mall
Ezra Stoller/Esto
Under the drum of the museum, with a view to the central courtya…
Under the drum of the museum, with a view to the central courtyard
Ezra Stoller/Esto
The cylindrical museum's central fountain plaza at night
Ezra Stoller/Esto
View out to the sculpture garden
Ezra Stoller/Esto
View of the fountain plaza from above
Ezra Stoller/Esto
Gallery space lining the central void
Ezra Stoller/Esto
This gallery space opens onto the building's balcony and feature…
This gallery space opens onto the building's balcony and features panoramic views of the Mall.
Ezra Stoller/Esto
Painting storage inside the museum
With all eyes on Doug Aitken’s “SONG 1” video installation, which closes this weekend after an extended run, it is a good moment to consider the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden on the National Mall as architect Gordon Bunshaft intended, and through the lens of photographer Ezra Stoller, who captured the images in this slide show shortly after the institution’s opening in 1974. Aitken’s installation reimagines the round form of the Hirshhorn as an inverted 360-degree Cinerama screen; projectors cast video onto the building’s exterior, while a soundtrack of several variations on The Flamingos’ hit “I Only Have Eyes For You” repeats on loop. Stoller’s images show the Hirshhorn speaking for itself, and with a working central fountain.
Deane Madsen, Assoc. AIA, LEED Green Associate, is the former associate design editor for ARCHITECT, and still covers architecture and design in Washington, D.C. He earned his M.Arch. at UCLA's Department of Architecture and Urban Design. Follow Deane on Twitter at @deane_madsen.
